A Night of Messes and Mayhem
by Jedi Knight Cheeze
Summary: Phoenix and Iris want to go out for the evening, but there’s no one to watch their daughter. That is, until Edgeworth decides he could handle the five year old for a night. How much trouble could one kid be, anyway?


**I was struck with this idea one day, and I thought it would be really cute. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

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**­**"Hey Honey," Phoenix Wright called through his house one Saturday morning, "Do you want to go somewhere tonight?"

"Go somewhere?" his wife, Iris Wright, called back, "Where would we go?"

"Oh, I don't know," Phoenix said, walking into the room, "Maybe we could go see a movie, then eat at the restaurant I booked reservations at?"

Iris looked back at Phoenix. "You did not."

"I did."

Iris smiled brightly and ran over to hug her husband. "Oh, Feenie, that's so sweet!" she said, "But who will watch Alexa?"

The girl in question, Alexa, happened to be the couple's five-year-old daughter.

"Don't worry, I'm going to call Maya. I'm sure she won't mind babysitting."

XxXxXxXxXx

Phoenix picked up his cell phone and flicked through his phone book until Maya's name came up. He clicked "call", and then put the phone up to his ear. The phone rang several times before he heard Maya's voice say, "Hello? Nick?"

"Hey, Maya. Yeah, it's me. Listen, I'm taking Iris out to dinner tonight, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind babysitting Alexa."

"Aw, I'm so sorry Nick, but I've got plans. I promised Pearly I'd go with her to the county fair."

"Oh. Ok."

"I'm really sorry, Nick."

"No, no, don't worry about it. Have fun tonight, ok?"

"Will do! Hope you find someone to baby-sit!"

"Bye, Maya."

Phoenix hung up the phone, and then began making emergency phone calls. First, he called Gumshoe.

"Gumshoe here."

"Hey, detective Gumshoe, it's Phoenix Wright."

"Oh, hey, pal! What do you need on a Saturday?"

"A babysitter. See, Iris and I want to go out to dinner, and we don't have anyone to watch Alexa."

"Oh, sorry, no-can-do, pal. I'm taking Maggey out to dinner, too."

"Ok, I'll get someone else. Sorry."

"Oh, no problem, pal. Any other time I would've been glad to help. Good luck!"

He then decided to call Larry.

"Hey, Nick, is this you?"

"Yeah. I need a favor, Larry. Could you-?"

It was at this point that Phoenix realized that he was about to ask Larry Butz to watch his five-year-old daughter.

"Um…never mind, Larry. I'll talk to you later."

"Ok, whatever you say, Nick."

Cursing under his breath, Phoenix hung up the phone. He was running out of people to ask, and he didn't think get a stranger to come at such short notice. In a last ditch effort, he picked up the phone and dialed Franziska's number. The phone rang for what seemed like forever before the phone clicked and a voice that definitely wasn't Franziska's said, "Hello? Wright?"

"Edgeworth? Isn't this Franziska's cell phone?"

"Well, yes…she's in court right now. I'm holding her phone for her. Is there something you needed?"

"Well…Iris and I were planning on going out to eat tonight, and I was going to ask Franziska to baby-sit."

There was silence on the other end of the line. Then-

"Wright, think that through a little more. Do you really want your daughter to have whip burns?"

"Oh. Good point."

"If you need a babysitter, I don't have any plans tonight."

"Huh? _You're_ offering to baby-sit? Have you even been around any four-year-olds since _you_ were that old?"

"You're hilarious."

"I wasn't joking. Alexa can be a handful."

"I'll be fine. Unless you have someone else to do it. But I think you must be pretty desperate if you're calling Franziska."

"Oh, now you're the comedian. All right, Edgeworth, I'd really appreciate it if you would watch Alexa. Can you come over around 5:00?"

"All right, see you then."

As Phoenix hung up the phone, Iris came in.

"Did you find a babysitter?"

"Yeah…Edgeworth's going to do it."

"Really?"

"I'm not so sure how he'll do either, but he was the only person I could get a hold of that didn't have plans."

"I'm sure he'll do fine. You know how much Alexa looks up to him."

"Hey! Are you talking 'bout me?" Alexa said, skipping into the room.

"Yes, actually," Phoenix said, picking his daughter up, "Your mom and I are going out tonight, so Uncle Edgeworth's coming to watch you, ok?"

"Uncle Edgey's coming? Yay!"

"Now, you know what to expect from Uncle Edgeworth, so promise me you'll be on your best behavior."

"I promise, I promise!"

"Thanks, Alexa."

"We're going to have fun tonight, Daddy! Do you think Uncle Edgey will play games with me?"

XxXxXxXxXx

Later that day, by just a few minutes after 5, Edgeworth had been ushered into the house by Iris.

"Uncle Edgey!" Alexa yelled, running up to hug Edgeworth around the knees. Edge worth was taken aback for a second, then smiled and patted the young girl's head. "Hello, Alexa."

"Ok, here's a list of emergency numbers and instructions," Phoenix said as he handed Edgeworth an envelope, "Her bedtime's 7:30, so don't listen to her if she tries to tell you it's 11:00."

Alexa smiled sheepishly. "Uncle Gummy believed me."

"Yeah, and that's why I'm telling Uncle Edgeworth to be careful. Now, come here and say goodnight to us."

Alexa hugged and kissed her Mom and Dad goodnight, and with that, Phoenix and Iris were off for the night, and Edgeworth was alone with Alexa. He looked down at the envelope in his hand. Opening it, he stashed the emergency numbers in his pocket and flipped open the instructions from Phoenix.

Around 5:30 you should start

thinking about dinner. There's

leftovers in the fridge, just heat

them up, and help yourself, too.

Like I said, her bedtime's 7:30.

You know Alexa, just keep

her out of trouble. Hopefully she

won't get in you hair too much.

Thanks again,

Phoenix

Edgeworth folded up the note as well. Alexa had gone back to her room, so Edgeworth went to go prepare dinner.

XxXxXxXxXx

After dinner had been eaten, Edgeworth sat down on the couch with a newspaper. His plans for a quiet evening, however, were about to be shattered. Alexa walked into the room, humming softly. She walked up to Edgeworth.

"Hey Uncle Edgey, do you wanna play a game?"

"What?"

"Let's play hide and seek! I go hide…and you come seek me!"

"Um…sure."

"Count to a bajillion, Uncle Edgey!" Alexa said, running off. Edgeworth got up slowly, and, closing his eyes, began to count.

"Hey, no peeking!" he heard her say.

"I'm not peeking."

"Yes you are! I saw you!"

"I'm getting close to a bajillion, you'd better hurry."

This must have scared her, because Edgeworth didn't hear form her again as he counted up to fifty. Once he had finished, he opened his eyes and began his search.

XxXxXxXxXx

_Damn, that girl is good, _Edgeworth thought ten minutes later as he sat back down on the couch to think. He'd looked all over the house and hadn't been able to find her. Which was rather strange, seeing as he had found more out-of-the-way clues in his career than most. _You would think she would've gotten bored and come out by now,_ he thought. Then again, if there was any kid likely to stick a game through to the bitter end, it was Alexa. "You can put 'stubbornness' on the list of traits she got from Wright, that's for sure," Edgeworth muttered softly, thinking hard about where she could possibly be hiding. He glanced at the clock. 7:00. If he didn't find her in a half hour, she would miss her bedtime. But that was plenty of time. Edgeworth decided that he would check outside, just in case. As he stepped outside into the brisk evening air, he began looking in the bushes and shrubs along the side of the house. It was then that he heard the giggling. It was coming from…above him? He spun around and, on instinct, looked up on the roof. And there, sitting giggling, was Alexa.

"Uncle Edgey, you are howwible at this game!"

"The roof-you're on the roof!? How did you get up there!?'

She pointed at a small ladder leaned up against the side of the house. "That ladder."

"That's a stepladder."

"Cousin Maya says they're the same thing."

"Get down here before you kill yourself. Please."

"Ok!"

Sighing, Edgeworth helped the young girl down, and then ushered her into the house.

"It's about time you started getting ready for bed," Edgeworth told her as they walked back into the living room.

"Aw, can't I stay up late, just this once?"

"I'm afraid not."

Hm," Alexa thought out loud, "Well then…"

Alexa turned to face Edgeworth.

"Hey Uncle Edgey," she said, "Surprise attack!"

"What?" Edgeworth had time to say, just before Alexa took marshmallows and cheerios out of her pockets and threw them at him. He yelled in alarm and threw his arms up in front of his face to stop the projectiles from pelting him too hard. _Where the hell did she get those!?_ Alexa giggled and ran off. Edgeworth opened his eyes just in time to see Alexa dashing off. "Hey! Come back here!" he said, running after her.

"Catch me if you can, Uncle Edgey!' she squealed over her shoulder as she bolted down a hallway.

"Alexa, stop this at once!" Edgeworth shouted after her.

He was gaining ground on her, and after a few minutes of the chase, he managed to scoop her up in his arms.

"Aw, man," Alexa said, sighing.

Edgeworth sighed too, but for a different reason entirely. He glanced at the clock. 7:15. Only 15 minutes until Alexa needed to be in bed.

"Ok, Alexa, Now it's really time for you to get ready for bed. Can you go brush your teeth for me, please?"

"Ok…" Alexa trudged off to the bathroom. Edgeworth went to go sit down on the couch. He had just sat down, however, when Alexa came back into the Living Room.

"Finished!" she exclaimed happily, sitting down on the couch next to Edgeworth.

"Alexa, you and I both know you weren't in their long enough to brush your teeth properly."

"But I did!"

"Come on, Alexa."

Edgeworth led Alexa back into the bathroom and watched her as she brushed her teeth.

"You know you have to put toothpaste on your toothbrush, right?"

"Of course I know that, silly! I did put toothpaste on it."

"Yes, but then you washed it all off."

"Oh, poo," Alexa said as she picked up the tube of toddler toothpaste and squeezed some more onto her toothbrush.

Once Alexa's teeth were clean, Edgeworth asked her if she could put her pajamas on by herself.

"Of course I can! I'm not a baby, Uncle Edgey!" she replied, and went into her room to change. When she came out a few minutes later, Edgeworth smiled slightly at the sight of her.

"Alexa, your pajamas are on inside out."

"Really?" She looked down. "Wow, looks like."

There was silence for a few moments, while Alexa just stood there, before Edgeworth asked, "Well, are you going to fix them?"

"Why? They look cool like dis!"

Edgeworth rolled his eyes. How easy it was to tell Alexa was related to Maya.

"Can you please fix them?"

"Oh, all right," Alexa grumbled, stomping off to her room. Edgeworth sighed for what felt like the thirtieth time that night. Alexa had completely wiped him out. _I didn't_ _take_ _Wright seriously_ _when he said that Alexa was a handful. I didn't know watching her was going to be so tiring._

"Uncle Edgey, I'm ready for bed now!" Alexa called from her room. Edgeworth looked at the clock. 7:28. Right on time. _Maybe now that she's going to be in bed, she won't be as much a trouble. _

"Will you read me a story, Uncle Edgey?"

_Or not._

Edgeworth slowly got up from the couch and went into Alexa's room.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Alright Alexa, do you have a certain story in mind?" Edgeworth said as he came and sat on the corner of her bed.

"Um…actually, instead of a story, can you tell me some things?"

"What kind of things?"

"Like…what it's like to be a pros-ca-cutor?"

Edgeworth blinked. The question had caught him by surprise.

"Well," he started, unsure of what to say, "It's a really big responsibility that I, and your father, have. Everyday, we deal with other people's lives. If we mess up, we ruin that other person's life. But when you bring justice to where it is due, that's an incredible feeling."

"Oh," Alexa said quietly. "So it's worth it?"

Edgeworth smiled. "Yes, I'd say it's worth it."

"Everyday, my Daddy helps people. I wanna help people too, someday. Somehow, I'm gonna help people, just like my Daddy and you."

Edgeworth smiled again and smoothed Alexa's hair. "I'm sure you will. Goodnight, Alexa."

"G'night, Uncle Edgey."

As Edgeworth left the room, he looked back at Alexa. He smiled. She was already asleep, and was smiling faintly. He closed the door quietly, and went back into the Living Room to wait for the Wrights to get home.

XxXxXxXxXx

An hour later, Phoenix and Iris walked through the front door. "Hey, Edgeworth," Phoenix called, "How was she?"

Edgeworth got up from the couch, walked over to where Phoenix was standing and crossed his arms, looking annoyed.

"Well, we had our speed bumps, and let me tell you a few things I discovered about your daughter tonight: She's stubborn, she's defiant, and she can get annoying at times."

Phoenix frowned. "I'm sorry, but-"

Edgeworth held up his hand to silence him. "She's also very smart, well-meaning, and has a want in her heart to help people," he continued. He gave a small smile. "In other words, she's a lot like you. You've got a great kid, Wright."

Phoenix and Iris both smiled.

"Thanks, Edgeworth," Phoenix said.

"I'm glad she behaved for you, for the most part," Iris said.

"Yes, well, anytime you're in need of a babysitter, don't hesitate to call me."

"I'll make sure Phoenix calls you first after Maya next time," Iris said, laughing.

Edgeworth smiled and opened the door. "Goodnight," he said simply. Phoenix and Iris both waved their goodbyes. And with that, Edgeworth's night as a babysitter came to a close. Both the good and the bad experiences of the night were reeling in his head as he walked to his car. Would Alexa grow up to be like her father? Only time could tell. But something told Edgeworth that Alexa had already taken a step in the right direction. And it wouldn't surprise him to see Alexa follow in her father's footsteps. He thought back to his own father, and how he used to want to follow in his footsteps with a fiery passion. He closed his eyes and smiled. _Good luck, Alexa. Whether it be as a doctor, or a teacher-or a lawyer-I know you'll be able to help people someday._

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**There you have it…just something meant to be funny and sweet at the same time. And just so you know…according to babynames, Alexa means defender.**


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